Alex Pettyfer In ‘50 Shades Of Grey’? Tom Hiddleston In ‘The Crow’? Dont Dress For Either

The fast pace of digital-age reporting means a lot of half-truths and half-baked conversations being reported as fact. First, I’ve gotta call bullshit on these recent reports (sorry, PMC-owned sister publication Hollywood Life) that Alex Pettyfer has been set to play Christian Grey in the eagerly awaited Universal Pictures adaptation of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades Of Grey. That book is selling faster than Harry Potter, another novel series about a guy with a magic wand. There hasn’t been a shred of discussion at the studio about Pettyfer playing Grey. The actor filmed the “deflowering” scene from the book for Gus Van Sant, who did that on spec in an attempt to get himself the helming job. A lot of major directors have been discreetly approached, but everyone is waiting on a script by Kelly Marcel. They would not set any cast without input from a filmmaker.

Also not happening is Thor and The Avengers antagonist Tom Hiddleston starring in Relativity Media’s reboot of The Crow. A simple conversation has been overhyped and reported like it was going to happen. The guy to keep an eye on here is True Blood‘s Alexander Skarsgard, who is getting numerous offers since his plans to star for David Yates in Tarzandied on the vine when Warner Bros halted the project over budget. No formal offer yet, but it sounds to me like it’s Skarsgard’s role if he wants it in the F. Javier Gutierrez-directed film series relaunch.